Last Modified: Thursday, July 18, 2013 at 4:32 p.m.

David Wilkins, shown in this March 2, 2011 file photo, has resigned as secretary of the Florida Department of the Children and Families.

AP

"I have no doubt that Esther will increase accountability in the Department and enhance child protective services in order to protect the most vulnerable among us," Gov. Rick Scott said in a statement, hinting at the agency's woes.

Jacobo said she had no idea Wilkins was leaving.

"I'm not sure for the reasons for the resignation. I literally got a call today from the governor's office informing me that the secretary had resigned and they were asking me to be the interim secretary for 90 days," she told The Associated Press.

Wilkins, who was finance chairman of the Florida Baptist Children's Home before joining DCF, was not immediately available for comment Thursday.

"I can honestly say we have improved our operational efficiency dramatically and helped more people in this state than we ever imagined possible," he said in an email to his staff.

His resignation comes less than two months after DCF said it fired a child protective investigator for forging documents about substance treatment for a mother months before her 11-month old baby died in a sweltering car.

Catalina Bruno is accused of leaving her son Bryan Osceola, along with a can of beer, in a car outside their Miami home. The boy had a 109-degree temperature when found, authorities said. His mother is now jailed on charges of aggravated manslaughter.

A DCF investigator became involved with the family in November when 30-year-old Bruno was accused of driving recklessly, hit walls before she passed out with the engine still running and the baby in her lap, according to documents released by DCF.

The investigator said she contacted a substance abuse expert to determine whether Bruno needed drug or alcohol treatment but the investigator said Bruno posted no threat to her children and didn't think substance abuse services were needed, according to authorities. Bryan and his siblings remained in her care and six months later, Bryan was dead. An email sent to Bruno's attorney was not immediately returned Thursday.

And in a case last month, police found 2-year-old Ezra Raphael unconscious in his Miami home. His mother's boyfriend, Claude Alexis, was charged with first-degree murder and child abuse after an autopsy ruled the boy's injuries to his back and body as a homicide. The toddler was home alone with Alexis at the time, according to a DCF report.

DCF officials said the child's mother, Cierrah Raphael, left the boy with a caregiver in Gainesville in 2012 because she couldn't take care of him. In February, DCF asked the unnamed caregiver to call the hotline if the mother ever tried to get her child back. But DCF said the caregiver never made that call and Ezra went back to his mother, who was charged with neglect after the boy's death. A message for Raphael's attorney, Jorge Viera, was not immediately returned Thursday.

Jacobo said Thursday she would make looking into the trouble cases a priority and implement changes that "do better on behalf of Florida's children."

"This stuff doesn't just happen by chance. When it happens once it's indicative ... when it happens three times it's really really indicative of some severe supervision problems and the way they are assessing child safety," said Miami Judge Jeri Beth Cohen.

Cohen, who has worked with Jacobo for years, praised her insight into child welfare issues and her relationship with the courts and private contractors.

"A couple of these children's deaths that were handled incorrectly were right here in Dade County so she's going to have to take a look at her own shop," Cohen added.

The private contractors who oversee foster care also had criticized Wilkins, accusing him of trying to exert too much control over them as he renegotiated their contracts. Some also accused Wilkins of trying to undermine the goals of the privatized system.

"When we were being left out of the conversation and having it dictated to us, we weren't going to stand for that and we didn't," said Kurt Kelly, the CEO of the coalition representing the contractors. He said most of the issues have now been smoothed over.

Jacobo also referred to the contractors' complaints as she took over.

"Whatever I need to do to bring down the insane noise level that is going on so that we can focus on what is really important which is serving the kids, I am going to do," she said.

One of Wilkins' priorities was overhauling the role of child protective investigators by hiring 100 new investigators, mostly in South Florida, reducing their caseloads and bolstering training. Jacobo said further improvements will be a priority.

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